DAF 95 TurboTwin X1
The DAF 95 TurboTwin X1 (Japanese: DAFトラック DAF torakku DAF Truck) is a pullback car first released as part of the Marathon Choro-Q sub-series in 1988. An overseas version of this toy was released in 2001 and 2003 as part of Funrise's Penny Racers line. It is modeled after the real-life DAF 95 TurboTwin X1 rally raid racing truck. Information Real life The 95 TurboTwin X1 and its sister vehicle, the 95 TurboTwin X2, are rally raid racing trucks developed specifically to compete in the 1988 Paris-Dakar rally's truck category. They are based in design on DAF's 95 line of cargo trucks, which was first introduced in 1987. The 95 TurboTwin X1 (and the X2) featured a simple yet durable aluminum spaceframe chassis designed by DAF factory driver Jan De Rooy. This design element was previously used in the FAV 3600 4x4 TurboTwin and TurboTwin II trucks, which De Rooy had also designed and driven in the Paris-Dakar rally in 1986 and 1987, respectively. Each of the two 11.6 litre Inline-6 twin-turbo diesel engines, positioned side-by-side in a midship configuration and each running an axle (another design element carried over from the TurboTwin and TurboTwin II), had a third turbocharger (feeding into the other two turbos) added to them, making for 1220HP and 4700Nm of torque. The truck also featured new 24" alloy wheels and a redesigned cab. As with the previous TurboTwin trucks, the door on the driver's side featured a cigarette holder. This is due to Jan De Rooy himself being a chain smoker. The X1 (#600) was doing exceptionally well in the truck category of the rally with De Rooy at the wheel, able to rough it through the harsh desert terrain and even overtaking Peugeot's 405 Turbo-16 Grand Raid cars, one of which driven by 1981 World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen. The X1 was in 3rd place overall by the 8th stage of the rally, when the X2 (#601) was involved an tragic accident. Speeding on a rough patch of sand at a speed of around 200 km/h, the X2 rolled over and somersaulted several times. The seatbase for co-driver Kees von Loevezijn (Netherlands) was violently wrenched loose, sending him flipping out of the cab. Loevezijn died, while driver Theo van de Rijt (Netherlands) and mechanic Chris Ross (Scotland) walked away from it alive, though with serious injuries, and the X2 was totaled. As a result of this accident, the X1 couldn't finish the race, and DAF withdrew from the rally and ceased all motorsports activities for several years, also selling the trucks and spare parts to De Rooy's team. As of current, the X1 is on exhibit at the DAF museum in Eindhoven, Netherlands, and kept in running condition. The same could not be said for the ill-fated X2, whose stripped remains were left to rust away in the vast desert of the Ténéré region to this day. Toyline Marathon Choro-Q The pullback car of the 95 TurboTwin X1 was released as part of the Marathon Choro-Q side-series, featuring the livery of the actual vehicle which competed in the 1988 Paris-Dakar rally. Like the other cars in the line-up, it features the Blue MAX pullback engine. Because of the car's design, its chassis is different than that of the standard Choro-Q toy, featuring details to make it as close in appearance as possible to the real life truck, such as molded spare tires, a visible section of the spaceframe, and the exhaust pipes. However, it does not feature a coin holder. Penny Racers (Funrise) The overseas version of the toy, released in 2001 as part of Funrise's Penny Racers line in North America, was re-colored in dark blue with new stickers and was named "Impact". The chassis for this version of the 95 TurboTwin X1 was re-molded to have a coin holder, though it cannot be used to make the car perform wheelies. It was also released in the 2003 line-up in white, black and blue as a part of the "Blitzers", "Impactorz" and "Fuzers" groups under the names of "Mastro", "Stopper" and "Zerk", respectively. Trivia *Ari Vatanen's Peugeot 405 Turbo-16 Grand Raid (racing no. 204), which the DAF 95 TurboTwin X1 had overtaken in a speed duel during the 1988 Paris-Dakar rally, was also released in toy form as part of the Marathon Choro-Q line-up. *By far, the 95 TurboTwin X1 is the only DAF vehicle to be made into a Choro-Q toy car. *Jan De Rooy was the winner of the 1987 Paris-Dakar rally in the truck category, driving the DAF FAV 3600 4x4 TurboTwin II. That being said, his racing team had also won the 1982 and 1985 rallies. Gallery Real life DAF95TurboTwinX1Real.jpg|The DAF 95 TurboTwin X1 on exhibit at the DAF museum DAF95TurboTwinX2AndCrew.jpg|The DAF 95 TurboTwin X2 and its crew before its crash Marathon Choro-Q CQDAFFront.jpg|DAF 95 TurboTwin X1 - Front CQDAFRear.jpg|DAF 95 TurboTwin X1 - Rear CQDAFUnderside.jpg|DAF 95 TurboTwin X1 - Underside Category:Toyline Category:Real life (toyline) Category:DAF Category:European Vehicles Category:Discontinued